


ただいま! (Tadaima!)

by strata



Series: Not Your Ordinary Family [1]
Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Anger Management, Angst, Anxiety, Bad Parenting, Boys In Love, Coming Out, Cute Kids, Depression, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Is Gay, Family, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Feels, First Love, Fluff, Friendship, Gay Parents, Homophobia, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Lee Heeseung Is Their Eldest Child, M/M, One Big Happy Family, Parenthood, Protective Siblings, Romance, Self-Acceptance, Seon and Kei Are Parents, Sibling Bonding, Slice of Life, Teenage Drama, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29384805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strata/pseuds/strata
Summary: The one where a bunch of homeless kids find a home with Seon and Kei.
Relationships: Choi Seunghyuk | Seon/K (I-LAND), Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki, Park Jongseong | Jay/Yang Jungwon, Park Sunghoon/Sim Jaeyun | Jake
Series: Not Your Ordinary Family [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2159901
Comments: 21
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The Chult](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+Chult).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****

Choi Seon first met Kei almost a decade ago, in a nondescript ice cream parlor, during his trip to Japan. He hadn’t been alone. Traveling with him and being a naughty little shit was Lee Heeseung, his deceased sister’s son and his only nephew. 

At six years old, Heeseung was smart for his age but stubborn to a fault. He was just like Seon’s noona as showcased at the moment: Heeseung refused to order anything unless he knew for sure which ice cream flavors were best together. 

_Oh dear._

“I’m sorry.” 

Seon eventually found himself interjecting using his broken English _twelve_ possible ice cream combinations later, yanking Heeseung by the back of his shirt to take him away from the counter. This was getting embarrassing. 

“Just put chocolate and vanilla together, it doesn’t matter. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“Appa-hyung,” Heeseung whined in Korean, twig like arms flailing to get back to peering at the myriad of flavors available for viewing from the display case. Any day and the unique way his nephew and sort of _pseudo_ son addressed him was a reason for Seon to smile, but not when it was taking them more than five minutes to choose ice cream flavors. “That’s boring! I wanna choose!”

Ice cream guy, who had a name tag written in Japanese characters, smiled wider as he glanced around the nearly empty store as well as the nonexistent line behind Seon and Heeseung. 

“We’re not really busy so it’s ok,” he replied with a wink—he was _kinda_ cute, come to think of it—before he was looking down at Heeseung to talk to him directly. To Seon’s surprise, from his own version of broken English, the guy switched to Korean. “We gotta get the flavors right, don’t we? Some flavors are just not meant to be!”

_“Yeah!”_

Seon resisted the urge to sigh as he released Heeseung’s shirt. Cute guys were Seon’s kryptonite, but cute guys who happened to be great with kids too? They were his downfall. But he had to focus and be reasonable here since Heeseung was being the opposite—he had to show authority.

“Please don’t encourage him, and _how do... you know... Korean...”_

Unfortunately, neither ice cream guy nor Heeseung was paying attention as they talked to each other with lots of big hand gestures. _So much for authority._ A little out of place and maybe staring just a bit too much, Seon decided to let the two of them be and with little choice on the matter. Though truth be told, it wasn’t all that hard—Seon always eventually gave in to whatever Heeseung wanted anyway (within reason… _sometimes)_. But more than that, ice cream guy was quite a sight, tall and handsome with a strong but gentle voice. He had a perfect view where he stood so he was pretty content. 

“Appa-hyung?”

Startled out of his staring, Seon looked down to find Heeseung grinning up at him. _Oh no…_ narrowing his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest self-consciously and tried not to blush (as if he had any control over that).

“I think he has a crush on you,” Heeseung whispered then without any prompting, making Seon lean down to shush him. Thankfully, ice cream guy was busy with whatever flavors they’d decided on so he (probably) didn’t hear what had just been said. “Promise, appa-hyung! All the guys who liked you were nice to me! Don’t you notice?”

Seon found himself laughing. 

“What if they’re just really nice people, Heedeungie?” Teasing, he ruffled his nephew’s hair. “Give them some credit.”

Just then, ice cream guy turned toward them with an ice cream cup that was definitely larger than what Seon had paid for. 

“Here you go,” he said with a smile, handing Heeseung his ice cream and little spoon. To Seon’s horror: “Mint chocolate chip and melon!”

 _“Arigato,”_ Heeseung replied using one of the few Japanese words he’d learned during their stay in the Land of the Rising Sun. And Seon was supposed to open his mouth, express his amused disgust over Heeseung’s strange flavor combination choice, when ice cream guy suddenly turned to him with words that rendered him speechless. 

His gentle smile turned into a smirk. 

“He’s not wrong you know,” he said then, making Seon’s heart skip a beat as if he was a teenager again and in front of his first male crush. “And you’re not, too. I can be a nice person _and_ have a crush on you at the same time, right?”

The little bell by the door rang just then to announce the arrival of new customers, and ice cream guy just gave Seon another wink before his attention was on them instead.

Beside him, Heeseung spoke around a mouthful of melon-flavored toothpaste ice cream. 

“I told you so!”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **sorry this is short - i'm actually just taking a break from work and decided to post this little "prologue" before i go back to work-related things. i wanted to start the story off with something cute and sweet so. yeah. anyway, i hope you enjoy it and i'll try to update soon ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** sleep is for the weak lol. hope you enjoy this quick update. won't probably add to this until next weekend, so until then! **

Heeseung made it his personal mission to ask ice cream guy all that he could after that. It was part of an interview process that all men in Seon’s life had to go through, standard by now and in a way, and Seon didn’t even try to stop his nephew with his questions. Doing such a thing had caused tantrums in the past, and he didn’t want to ruin their pleasant vacation. 

“What’s your name?”

Ice cream guy looked amused where he was a few tables away and wiping its surface, refusing to look at Seon who hastily removed his gaze to focus on his banana split instead.

“My name’s Kei. How about you?”

“I’m Lee Heeseung! Six years old! Are you single?”

“Nice to meet you, Heeseung-ah. And I am, though I have a baby.”

Heeseung wasn’t expecting that, straightening in his seat and getting distracted by it immediately as he paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth. 

“But how can you be single and have a baby?”

Kei fixed the chairs around the table he’d cleaned, smile turning a touch wistful. 

“His mommy didn’t want us, so she left.”

At those words, Heeseung sagged on his chair. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then, finding a solution if his bright smile was anything to go by, he used his spoon to point Seon’s way. 

“Appa-hyung acts like a mom sometimes if you want to replace—”

Seon gasped, head whipping upwards so fast he was surprised his neck didn’t snap. 

_“LEE HEESEUNG!”_

Heeseung giggled at the same time Kei laughed. 

“But appa-hyung, you were praying to eomma and told her you were lonely—”

The plastic spoon in Seon’s grip creaked with how tightly he was holding onto it, all while he glared at a gleeful Heeseung in warning.

“Lee Heeseung, _I swear to god—”_

“I’m lonely too, sometimes,” Kei shared just then, back turned as he made his way to the counter where he washed the table cloth he’d used, and then his hands, before he was turning back to them to look at Seon directly this time. “I’m Kei. It’s nice to meet you.”

Seon could feel the heat climbing up from his neck to his cheeks, but he was a brave guy. He didn’t waver as he offered a sheepish smile Kei’s way.

“I’m Seon. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Heeseung smacked his lips, dropping his spoon on his ice cream cup to signify he was finished. And then he beamed at them, looking from Kei to Seon then back with eyes that would probably twinkle if it could. 

“So are you dating now, appa-hyung?”

Seon resisted the urge to throw his dessert on the floor.

_“LEE HEESEUNG!”_

…because the rest of the late afternoon was too hot for walking around, Seon and Heeseung ended up staying in the ice cream parlor for a few more hours. During the course of several desserts (but in small quantities), some other salty snacks that the place offered, and a ridiculously tall glass of strawberry milkshake that his nephew nearly spilled all over himself, Seon managed to have a pretty decent conversation with Kei who had finished his shift and was now just sitting with them. 

“His name’s Taki,” Kei shared with a proud smile, passing his phone over to show a photo of his son to both him and Heeseung. “He’s eight months old.” 

“He’s cute!” Heeseung was cooing, pointer finger wiggling like a little worm a few inches away from the screen. “Appa-hyung, can we keep him?”

Seon rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. 

“That’s called kidnapping, Heedeungie.”

Heeseung harrumphed, turning to Kei this time. 

“Can we keep him, Uncle Kei?”

Kei laughed, handing his phone over to the boy since the boy was already scrolling through the photo gallery. With a brief glance Seon’s way, he smiled as he answered. 

“I’m sorry, but he’s mine to keep. You can borrow him though.”

Heeseung looked up, eyes wide. 

“Like back in Seoul?”

Even Seon had looked up from looking at the adorable pictures of Kei’s son, one eyebrow raised in question. Kei nodded, glancing at him and then back at Heeseung. 

“Yeah. Taki’s mom is Korean, and even though she doesn’t want anything to do with us, her parents do. They like seeing Taki-kun, so we visit Seoul as much as we can.”

“OMG!” Heeseung turned to Seon in excitement, using a term he most likely heard either in school or on TV. He’d never heard his nephew use said word until now though. “Appa-hyung, they can come visit right? Can they please visit? _Pretty please?”_

To be realistic, Seon was pretty sure they would never see Kei again after this. That was just how life worked. But Heeseung was too young to understand things like that, so instead, he humored him with an indulging smile. 

“Sure, of course. You’re welcome to visit us in Seoul, Kei-ssi.”

Kei grinned. “Really? If that’s the case, I have to extend the same courtesy. If you’d like a tour of Sumida-ku, I live in the area and coincidentally have a week off. You’ll love it there! Where are you staying?”

Seon felt a little uneasy sharing such information, but he wasn’t necessarily going to give him their room number, right? Offering the name of the hotel they were staying in, to Seon’s surprise, Kei’s eyes widened in shock. 

“No way! It’s too expensive over there! Have you ever considered an airbnb? It’s more affordable.”

Seon had honestly considered one, but: “Believe me, I looked. I don’t know what’s up with Tokyo right now, but I couldn’t get a good price and location.”

Kei frowned for a minute, and then, turning to Heeseung, he smiled.

“Hey Heeseung-ah. Is it ok if I borrow my phone for a minute? I just need to make a call.”

Heeseung, still staring at pictures of Taki, obliged. 

“Ok! But give it back—I haven’t watched his videos yet!”

Kei nodded, taking his device away and glancing back at Seon to excuse himself. 

“I’ll just be a minute ok? Don’t go anywhere.”

That said, Kei stood up and exited the ice cream parlor, though he stayed just right outside, visible through the glass, phone pressed against his ear. Seon watched him for a little bit before realizing that Heeseung was watching him in turn. And he was, once again, grinning. 

“What?”

“You like him appa-hyung, right? Because I do!”

Seon sighed. 

“Why are you so involved in my love life?”

“Because,” Heeseung said, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table. He then cradled his face with his palms, smile wide and cheeks squished cutely. “Eomma told me to take care of you! And that we have to find you a “good man” is what she said!”

Seon found himself smiling at that, a little touched and maybe concerned about how a six-year-old kid was taking his mother’s final words to heart like this. He was too little for that type of responsibility… but there was no taking it back. All Seon could do was cooperate with Heeseung to make it easier for the boy. 

And it wasn’t as if he _didn’t_ like Kei… 

“Ok fine,” Seon whispered, leaning forward on the table too as he dropped his voice unnecessarily, just for the fun of it. “He’s really nice. And cute. If he’s not a conman, I’d ask for his number and invite him to stay with us the next time they’re in Korea.”

_“Yes!”_

Heeseung pumped his fists in the air, hissing the one word in excitement. Seon couldn’t help but chuckle though, when he paused comically and then asked: 

“What’s a conman, appa-hyung?”

“It means a bad guy who tricks other people so they can steal their money.”

Heeseung’s mouth opened with an exaggerated _oh._

“But he’s not like that, right? Uncle Kei is really nice.”

Seon shrugged, hoping that was the case. Still, better safe than sorry. 

“We’ll see, Heedeungie.”

Kei returned about ten minutes later, all smiles as he plopped back down on the seat across Seon. 

“What can you say,” he began, waving his phone in the air, “about moving to the airbnb hosted by my landlady that’s right beside my apartment? And probably for half the price you’re paying the hotel, too.”

Seon hesitated. A cute guy offering cheap lodging and with a suddenly free week to boot... _wasn’t this too good to be true?_

His hesitation must have shown on his face because Kei was quick to hand his phone over to show an Airbnb hosting page. 

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, unbothered. “It’s suspicious right? So I had my landlady activate her listing to show you since I managed to convince her to let you stay there for the duration of your trip. She’s an old lady, so I helped her take the photos for the site—you’ll see me and Taki reflected in one of the mirrors, see?”

Seon took the phone, a little skeptic, and first made sure the website was legitimate. _It was._ Second, he checked the listed address and the district, and it seemed to add up: Sumida-ku. The _Superhost_ tag was also very comforting, and as Seon thumbed through the gallery, just like Kei said, there they were: father and son framed by a bathroom mirror with Kei holding the camera with one hand while he cradled his kid using his free arm. 

“Ok, wow. Yes, it’s way cheaper than what I’ve paid so far but… ” Seon looked up, equal parts amazed and confused. “Why are you doing this?”

Kei was staring at him with his cheek cradled on one hand, more handsome than ever. The other man’s looks alone was going to give him a heart attack. 

“I don’t know,” he admitted eventually, and he sounded honest. “I just kinda see how you look at and treat Heeseung, and I feel like we’re the same, you know? That and the less money you spend on accommodations, the more places you can go to and things you can buy, and activities you can do.”

Seon wasn’t sure, but he sort of understood what Kei was saying especially in the beginning there. As the legal guardian of Lee Heeseung for a little more than a year now, he could tell (most of the time at least) if another parent was treating their kid right or if they had a good relationship just by how they interacted with one another. And oftentimes, he too and just like Kei here, felt compelled to help parents and their kids out regardless if they were struggling or not—just because he knew how difficult it was to take care of a child. 

Was that what Kei meant?

“You must really like me,” he found himself saying, jokingly, but Kei didn’t laugh. Instead, he leaned back on his seat, took a nice good look at Seon, and did that smirking thing again. 

“Well, that too.” 

Of course Heeseung had to ruin the moment. 

“And also because appa-hyung is _really_ lonely!”


End file.
